Kent Ford (born 1943) is a co-founder of the Portland chapter of the Black Panther Party in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1969.
Early life
Kent Ford was born in 1943 near Maringouin, Louisiana.[1] At the age of 12 he moved to Redmond, California with his three siblings, mother, and her husband.[1][2] At the age of 18 he had his first brush with police in California when he was arrested and jailed for three days for going 60 mph in a 45 mph zone.[2] Shortly after he moved to Portland, Oregon in 1961.[1] Here he set up a candy business buying supplies wholesale and having adolescents sell door-to-door.[2]
Later life
In 1967 he took a job at Safeway as a computer operator for 104 stores.[2] The same year he returned home to find he'd been robbed, and he subsequently called the police because $1,000 was missing.[2] When the police filed their report, it wasn't about the robbery, but instead about "possible subversive subject" - which referred to Kent Ford, who at the time had large maps of Vietnam and Cambodia in his home and writings by Mao Zedong.[2] Several weeks later Ford intervened while police were arresting a man, and was subsequently arrested, assaulted, and held in jail on $80,000 bail on charges that he had incited a riot.[3] He was eventually acquitted and awarded a $6,000 settlement.[3]
Ford has three sons, James, Sekou, and Lumumba.[2]
In 2020, Ford participated in protests against police brutality in Portland, Oregon.[4]
Founding the Portland chapter of the Black Panther Party
In 1968, after the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr., a group of 20 Black young adults in Portland started regularly meeting to discuss the writings of Malcolm X and other activist writers; not more than a year later, in June 1969, Kent Ford was beaten and jailed for these activities.[5] After Ford's release from jail he organized a press conference on the steps of Portland Central Precinct, then at SW Second & Oak, and proclaimed, "If they keep coming in with these fascist tactics we're going to defend ourselves."[5][2] Shortly thereafter Huey Newton invited him to form and lead a Portland chapter of the Black Panther party.[5] Approximately six members of the reading group formed Portland's chapter.[6] In total, the initial Portland Panthers had approximately 50 members, half of whom were women.[2] One of the requirements of the Black Panther party in Portland was that members read at least two hours a day.[5]
The Portland Black Panther Party was active in demonstrations against the Vietnam War.[5] They created a children's breakfast program and fed hundreds of children daily in the dining room at Highland United Church of Christ in Northeast Portland.[5] The chapter also opened and operated two medical clinics in Portland, The Malcolm X Dental Clinic and Fred Hampton Memorial People's Health Clinic.[5][4]
As of 2020, Ford was active giving historic Black Panther walking tours about six times a year.[5]
Legacy
In 2021, a $20,000 Community Placemaking grant was awarded by the Portland Metro Council to support a play about Ford's life and work titled, "Walking through Portland with a Panther - the life of Mr. Kent Ford, All Power".[7] A stage reading of the play was conducted in February 2022, during a three day tribute in Portland honoring Kent Ford.[8] The Vanport Mosaic and Confrontation Theatre presented the solo play in June 2022.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Jules Boykoff; Martha Gies (2010). ""We're going to defend ourselves": The Portland Chapter of the Black Panther Party and the Local Media Response". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 111 (3): 278. doi:10.5403/oregonhistq.111.3.0278. JSTOR 10.5403/oregonhistq.111.3.0278.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Martha, Gies (March 2005). "A Father's Story" (PDF). Portland Monthly.
- ^ a b "Portland has a long history of Black-white activist alliances". The Seattle Times. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
- ^ a b Boykoff, Jules (2020-06-25). "'We Can't Be Duped by Petty Reforms': A Q&A With a Black Panther". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Kent Ford has advice for young activists: Read, and keep going". Real Change. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
- ^ Rose, Joseph (2016-02-09). "Beyonce and the history of Portland's Black Panthers". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ "2021 Community Placemaking grantees". Metro. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
- ^ "Portland Is Filled With Black History Month Events. Here Are Six Worth Your Consideration". Willamette Week. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
- ^ "New play celebrates Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland's Black Panther Party". opb. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
